Konoha: Tsunade, I am the Hokage

Chapter 208 I will pledge Shukaku to Konoha!

"Hello, I am Xinxian from the Snow Clan."

"I am Tsunade, the current Fourth Hokage. Let's check on her physical condition first."

Tsunade smiled.

She felt a certain attraction to the man in front of her.

According to Orochimaru, this was a Yuki clan ninja who recognized the Will of Fire. He joined Konoha not because he admired strength, but because he recognized the will and ideas of the people.

This is exactly the kind of person Konoha needs.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Xinxian breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely worried that Tsunade or other Konoha ninjas might not welcome them, given that Kirigakure had fought a localized war with Konoha in the past.

At that time, the Snow Clan also participated in the war.

But the reality is...

After arriving in Konoha, although Konoha had not yet made specific arrangements for them, they sent his wife to Konoha Hospital and provided her with meticulous care.

After a while.

"Is my wife alright?"

"It's alright. Since I'm a ninja, my body is still relatively healthy. If it were an ordinary person, after experiencing those things in the past, their body would be weak at the very least."

Tsunade glanced at the report and then explained the specifics.

They are generally healthy.

Some of the smaller projects weren't great, but they weren't important either.

She mentioned a few points to note, then put away her documents and prepared to move on to the next department.

They weren't the only pregnant women here.

Since a minor incident occurred within the Hyuga clan, several members of the Kaguya and Yuki clans have been receiving care here to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

Xinxian quickly called out to stop him.

"Hokage-sama, wait!"

"Um?"

Tsunade turned around and smiled, "What's the matter?"

"Well, Lord Orochimaru only brought me back to Konoha, and I haven't seen him since. I wanted to ask what Shino and I need to do next? At least, I should still have some ability."

Trusting the virtuous is not a matter of self-deprecation.

In Kirigakure, he considered himself to be quite capable, but in Konoha, he felt he still needed to train and couldn't guarantee anything.

after all--

Over the years, Konoha's strength has been an undeniable fact, while Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy, in his view, has actually led Kirigakure into an endless cycle of internal strife.

Based on what he's seen and heard in the last few days, he believes that Kirigakure is far inferior to Konoha!

"You want to work? I thought you'd rather spend some time with your wife and rest."

Tsunade was somewhat surprised.

Xinxian hesitated for a moment, then blushed and lowered his head in shame, saying, "We escaped from the Snow Clan without taking much money with us, these..."

Tsunade immediately understood.

This young man wasn't really in a hurry to find a job; he was just worried about not having enough money.

She thought for a moment and replied, "Your food, clothing, and shelter will currently be covered by Konoha's finances, so you don't need to worry about money for now. Of course, if you want to do something..."

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade realized that ordinary work was not suitable for the Yuki clan for the time being.

The same applies to the Kaguya clan.

Although Kaguya Ippei has taken on some missions, he still primarily serves in the Anbu, providing assistance in operations and combat.

"I want to do something!"

Xinxian did not hesitate at all.

Tsunade nodded slightly.

She didn't know much about the abilities of the Snow Clan.

but.

Jingyan certainly knew how to use such a talent, after all, he was the one who had Orochimaru bring him back.

Having thought this through, Tsunade already had her answer.

"You should stay at the hospital and take care of your wife for now. In a couple of days, I'll have Jingyan send someone to contact you. Just follow Jingyan's instructions."

"In the short term, you may be arranged to participate in dark training, or train dark trainees."

Tsunade gave a brief overview of the possible tasks.

Xinxian breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to indicate that he understood.

……

The Hokage's office.

"Kyohiko, Lady Tsunade went to the hospital to inspect the situation. You should know about the situation there..."

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

"what?"

Shizune blinked, momentarily stunned.

You'll arrange it?

can.

You're not the Hokage!

Jingyan ignored him and sat down on his own: "Since the Kazekage wants to visit, let him come over. Our cooperation with the Land of Lightning went quite well before, so we can talk to the Land of Wind as well."

He sat down and quickly began writing.

Before long, two slips of paper were written on them, each indicating a meeting in the "Jonin Waiting Room".

soon.

Flying Thunder God Technique, the note disappears.

Silent lips twitched.

Really...

Fine then. If the Third Hokage could tolerate Danzo's reckless behavior, how could Lady Tsunade possibly blame Kyohiko?

not to mention.

Judging fairly, she felt that Kyohiko's decisions were sometimes more correct than Tsunade's...

"Well, thinking about it that way, it seems like it's not so bad for Kyohiko-kun to make the decision."

Silent paused for a moment.

Immediately, she thought of—

"If Kyohiko were a few years older, he could have become Hokage directly."

She felt that Kyohiko was more suitable to be Hokage than Tsunade.

……

A few minutes later, in the Jonin waiting room.

"Kyohiko, what's the situation in Kumogakure this time?"

"It's not Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village)."

Jingyan shook his head.

It's not yet appropriate to directly implement the strategic plan in the Hidden Cloud Village.

after all.

The Hidden Cloud Village is currently at its most vigilant; any slight movement from Konoha will arouse their suspicion. Now, they're telling them they want to help with the construction...

The Hidden Cloud Village might repeatedly wonder if the Hidden Leaf Village had set some kind of trap for them, or laid a pitfall for them.

Instead of doing that, it's better to be more patient and wait until both sides reach an agreement.

And now.

Kyohiko wanted to talk about Sunagakure.

He combined the intelligence and information gathered from both the Anbu and the Konoha government and presented it to the two of them.

Both of them are very intelligent.

Yamanaka Inoichi is an expert in intelligence, extremely sensitive to information. If he weren't also in charge of Konoha's overall intelligence work, Kyohiko would definitely have recruited him.

Hai glanced at it once.

Immediately, he raised his head, a smile appearing on his face.

"Luo Sha can't hold on any longer."

"Senior Inoichi, your judgment is the same as mine. I also think that Rasa wants to develop a deeper cooperation with Konoha. Repairing the trade route is a signal of that."

Jingyan pointed to a line on the map.

This was the classic trade route from the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers to the Land of Wind in the early days, but as tensions rose between the two countries, this trade route gradually fell into disuse.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind now rely more on trade along their southern coast.

Once this trade route to the north is built, the oases and villages along the way will all benefit.

Shikaku pondered for a moment and said, "This road should mainly lead to the land of rivers, which has large rivers that can transport large quantities of goods by boat."

"mineral."

Jingyan continued the conversation.

"Yes, that's what I think too."

Shikaku nodded.

The three of them each spoke a sentence, piecing together the general purpose of Sunagakure based on the information they had gathered.

In the end, three items were written on the list.

1. Sasori of the Red Sand.

2. Business ethics and cooperation.

3. A deeper alliance with Konoha, possibly hoping that Konoha can provide some convenience or protection to Sunagakure.

……

"If Luo Sha really thinks that way, he's being far too unrealistic."

Tsunade couldn't help but sneer, "What is he planning to offer in return? If it's just threats, threatening war if he doesn't agree, then Konoha isn't afraid of going to war with Sunagakure again!"

The current Sunagakure and Konoha are not on the same level at all.

Konoha is not afraid of another war.

but.

For Sunagakure, if war breaks out again and they are defeated again, what awaits them is not defeat and reconciliation, but rather they will be reduced from one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages to one of the Four Great Shinobi Villages.

"We'll see in a bit."

Tsunade stood up, full of vigor and excitement. "Let's go! To Kikyo Castle!"

……

A border region between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.

Rasa, accompanied by several guards, crossed the border and entered the territory of the River Country.

He looked up and gazed into the distance.

A short while later, a person returned from the front.

"Lord Kazekage, we have communicated with the people of Kikyo Castle. They have agreed to let us pass through to enter the Land of Fire, but we need their people to escort us."

"That's only right, let's go."

Luo Sha wasn't too surprised.

If Konoha were to allow them to freely enter and leave the Land of Fire under these circumstances, it would be far too lax.

If the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were in power, it might be possible, but now that it's Tsunade and Yoshimine Kyohiko, and there's Orochimaru as an "advisor" in the village, it's impossible for them to do something so stupid.

Luo Sha remained silent as he led his men along the way. At one point, he stopped and looked at the vibrant forest, speechless for a moment.

This place was not originally a forest, but a desert, mostly sand and rocks, with no vegetation.

But now...

A large forest makes this place lush and green, and there is even a stream in the forest.

Although the water flow was not large, it was a miracle of life for the Land of Wind.

but--

The miracles here were all created with the blood and flesh of the Sand Village ninjas, including Ebizo, an important elder of the Sand Village.

Ebizo's death...

It once paralyzed the Sunagakure village's ANBU system.

He stood there for a long time.

"Let's go."

Luo Sha walked through the woods, following the route he had taken years ago, heading towards Kikyo Mountain.

The bumpy road ahead seemed to transform into the battlefield of yesteryear, filling him with a sense of sorrow.

Teacher, the Third Kazekage, was killed by the enemy right here.

Yoshimine Kyohiko.

That young man, it was by stepping on their Sand Village that he achieved his current illustrious reputation, showing the potential to inherit the title of God of Shinobi from Hashirama Senju.

At least--

Compared to the current Hanzo, Kyohiko in a few years would definitely be more deserving of the title "demigod".

Luo Sha remained silent.

"Having an opponent like Yoshimine Kyohiko is a tragedy for our Sunagakure, and even more so for this era..."

He let out a long sigh.

Why would such an extraordinary being exist in this era?

Without Yoshimine Kyohiko, things might have been different.

He looked into the distance.

Konoha has produced talented individuals generation after generation. How can Sunagakure compete with them?

Now, Rasa has no answer in his heart. He even feels that perhaps a complete alliance with Konoha would be a better choice.

such……

At least they won't fall out of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Luo Sha continued walking forward, and none of the guards behind him spoke.

They had also experienced that war and knew how devastating the consequences of the fighting were.

That battle resulted in the loss of too many elite troops!

The Hidden Sand Village is now too weak to withstand another war.

They traveled all the way to the foot of Kikyo Mountain.

"Maki, go and inform them again."

"yes!"

Maki vanished in an instant.

After a long while, Konoha sent four ninjas over.

"Lord Kazekage, please!"

"it is good."

Luo Sha nodded slightly and followed along.

All the way to Kikyo Castle, he was very cooperative and did not make any unusual moves. He even took the initiative to leave the guards outside the city and went into the city alone to negotiate.

but.

Upon arriving inside Kikyo Castle, he was immediately taken aback.

"Ryomine Kyohiko? What's wrong with you...?"

"You are the Kazekage, after all. If we really let you come all the way to Konoha, outsiders would say we are impolite. Meeting here is a good choice for both you and us."

Jingyan smiled, then pointed to the building. "Please!"

"Thanks."

Luo Sha adopted a humble posture.

He already knew who was inside the building.

To make Yoshimine Kyohiko like this...

It's either Jiraiya or the current Hokage, Tsunade!

Obviously.

The latter is more likely!

Rasa took a deep breath and entered the building, where he saw Tsunade sitting at the head of a table, looking serious.

In Tsunade's matchup, a position had already been set up.

"Fengying, please have a seat."

Thank you!

Luo Sha walked over and sat down.

Tsunade stood on the table.

"Kage, your suggestion to jointly host the Chunin Exams is indeed good, but we also have many allies on our side, so we still need to discuss this further."

"Of course, that's to be expected. In fact, besides the Chunin Exams, I have another purpose for this trip."

Rasa nodded respectfully. "I wish to establish further cooperation with Konoha!"

"Oh? Tell me, how exactly do you want to collaborate?"

Tsunade's lips curled into a slight smile.

Rasa bowed his head and said, "Sunagakure is willing to give up more mission slots and provide our intelligence network to help you monitor Onoki!"

"Hehe, Lord Rasa, your suggestion is not very important to Konoha. After all, the mission share depends on the employer's confidence in each other, and Sunagakure does not have that kind of leverage right now."

Jingyan spoke up to refute.

Luo Sha remained silent for a second.

He knew that Kyohiko was right.

The Sand Village of today is no longer what it was before the war. Many employers believe that the Sand Village has declined so much that they are no longer willing to entrust their services to the Sand Village. Among them, many are still entrusted by the Land of Wind.

Those commissions...

Most of them went to Konoha.

To some extent, he was being generous with other people's money.

Luo Sha bowed his head: "We are willing to sign the contract and will never break our promise!"

"If Konoha is at a disadvantage, the contract is just a piece of paper and has no meaning to us. Including your Magnet Release ninjutsu, we actually have a way to counter it..."

Tsunade shook her head.

Luo Sha's chips are indeed too few!

Luo Sha raised his head.

"What if I were to hand over Shukaku to Konoha for safekeeping? I could use Shukaku as collateral to regain Konoha's trust in our village and plead for some support from them!"

One-tailed Shukaku!

A hint of surprise flashed in Tsunade's eyes.

That's a tailed beast!

If Rasa really dares to ask, isn't he afraid that Konoha will take the benefits and not reciprocate?

What's the difference between this and giving it away for free?

(End of this chapter)